When time and funding permit, each flower (each plant species) will have its own page, and its own PDF, and eventually its own PPT so that professors and students have plenty of material on Guatemala (and Honduras, etc) to study.
Heliconia adflexa, Coban, Guatemala, Hotel Monja Blanca, FLAAR, by Nicholas Hellmuth
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“Manzanote” cactus that is a complete tree |
“Manzanote” cactus that is a complete tree Cacti are perennial plants, very attractive for their strange shapes and spines. Its stems are green, fleshy, simple or branched, with cylindrical, globose or flattened shapes. They are, generally, terrestrial plants adapted to extreme climates where they can survive long periods without water. They can be herbs, shrubby or arborescent, fleshy or even hard and woody stems; also, epiphytes cacti can be found (mostly in trees from the tropical zones) (Véliz, 2008). The main characteristic of cacti is the presence of thorns (spines) on their stems instead of leaves, in fact the word cactus derives from the Greek "káctos", which means "prickly thistle". But, as nature is unpredictable, there’s the exception of the rule: two genera which species that have leaves. These are: Pereskia and Pereskiopis, according to Véliz (2008). So, if you are a cactus enthusiast, you will surely be impressed by learning about the species Pereskia lychnidiflora. At first glance, Pereskia lychnidiflora looks like a tree full of thorns, since it can reach up to 9 meters in height and its stems are even woody-like, so you would never imagine that it is a cactus. This species is commonly found in the dry forest of Guatemala, which includes the departments of El Progreso, Zacapa and Chiquimula. It is known by the locals by the name of "Manzanote" (big apple in Spanish) due to the fruits it produces, very similar to apples (Yoshimoto, 2017). There is a special interest in the Pereskia genus because of its medicinal properties such as antisyphilitic, emollient and for the treatment of inflammatory and skin diseases. Recent research has shown that the P. lychnidiflora species contains anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties due to the presence of tannin alkaloids and sterols (Guerra, et al. 2018) The FLAAR Mesoamerica team found this amazing cactus in Guastatoya, El Progreso on Highway CA9. We have also seen at at the same tree cactus throughout dry hills of Zacapa, including in the Heloderma reserve.
The characteristics of Pereskia lychnidiflora make it a very interesting and exotic plant, but at the same time, very little studied and appreciated. It is a sample of the great diversity of species that we can find in the dry forest, a unique place in Guatemala; but very few people talk about it because the tree species that live there lose their foliage for 5 to 6 months, water is scarce due to lack of rain in the dry season and therefore, it is quite hot. For the other side, the seasonally dry forest can be a real spectacle in the rainy season, first because trees recover their foliage and transform into the forest we expect to see. Plus, there are many reptiles and insects that appear after months of estivation (when animals slow their activity for the dry season) which complement the landscape. You might be interested on reading about the most eccentric lizard from Guatemala, learn more here: Guatemalan relative of Gila Monster of southwest USA, Heloderma horridum charlesbogerti, Rio Motagua and Huehuetenango “El Niño Dormido” a unique species in the world https://flaar-mesoamerica.org/2020/01/24/el-nino-dormido-a-unique-species-in-the-world/ Next opportunity (once the Coronavirus lockdown is over), if you pass driving parallel to the Motagua Valley, now you know what to look for, so hopefully you will observe this interesting species: Pereskia lychnidiflora, one of the only cacti that have trunk, tree-sized branches, leaves. PDF, Articles, Books on Pereskia lychnidiflora
Suggested webpages with photos and information on Pereskia lychnidiflora https://cactusclassification.science/tag/leuenbergeria-lychnidiflora/ https://cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Pereskia www.crbio.cr:8080/neoportal-web/species/Pereskia%20lychnidiflora https://datosabiertos.unam.mx/IBUNAM:MEXU:1178886 https://ecohis.jmarcano.com/biodiversidad/pereskia/ https://enciclovida.mx/especies/143853-pereskia-lychnidiflora https://identify.plantnet.org/the-plant-list/species/Pereskia%20lychnidiflora%20DC./data http://legacy.tropicos.org/Name/5105741 http://legacy.tropicos.org/Name/5105741?tab=distribution https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60461846-2 www.si.edu/es/object/nmnhbotany_11667595 www.snib.mx/iptconabio/resource?r=SNIB-ES002 www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2414583 www.zamorano.edu/2016/08/01/importancia-uso-los-cactus/ https://zims-en.kiwix.campusafrica.gos.orange.com/wikipedia_en_all_nopic/A/Pereskia Videowww.youtube.com/watch?v=LdY5uls0jsA
Updated January, 2022 by Nicholas Hellmuth, FLAAR (USA) and FLAAR Mesoamerica (Guatemala) |